WINNER Talks About Their New Album And Their Relationship With Yang Hyun Suk

Apr 09, 2018

In a recent interview, WINNER spoke up about their latest comeback, changed relationship with Yang Hyun Suk, and communicating with each other.

WINNER, who returned with a new album on April 4, shared the number four is meaningful to them. Kang Seung Yoon said, “Thankfully, ‘Really Really,’ which was released April 4 of last year, received a lot of love. To us, the number four represents luck. We wanted good energy this time as well, so after discussing with Yang Hyun Suk, we decided to have our comeback on April 4.”

Instead of releasing songs with the same tropical vibe as “Really Really” and “ISLAND” from last time, they decided to go with something new and came up with “Everyday,” a bright song from the trap genre. It’s the first time they attempted music with this kind of style. They tried to create lyrics about spending every day with your loved ones and also strove to include both popular appeal and musical quality at the same time.

Kang Seung Yoon said, “I get tired of the same genre very easily. I have a strong desire to continue making new music. I want to sing music that people listen to the most these days and that everyone asks for. If I want to go a step further, I can’t just stay in the same spot. It’s the right thing to do, even if the results of my attempt are not great.”

The group leader also added, “We’ve been trying different things since last year, but we wanted people to recognize a song as ours regardless of what genre we do. Even though we can’t describe [our music] with a genre or specific words, our goal is to become singers who always express influence, strength, voice, and individuality. I think that’s our color.”

Kang Seung Yoon continued, “The songs we released last year gave a fresh impression of youth. Those songs were more bright and cheerful, so we wanted to give a more serious message this time. While also maintaining our strengths, we tried to bring other elements to life, as well. Through our song, we really wanted to soothe pains that our generation can sympathize with.”

Kang Seung Yoon also talked about “Air,” one of the songs on their new album. He explained, “The second track ‘Air’ was created with the motif of our fan club. We were inspired by the gifts from our fans. To singers, fans are like air. Air is natural and it’s everywhere, but we can’t take it for granted. Sometimes I hear from our fans that our music helped their lives, and it’s very touching.”

Song Mino said, “Since this is a full album, we’re able to tell diverse stories, so it’s nice. While some songs are more for casual enjoyment, others will make people think about themselves. I wanted to make music that people keep coming back to even if years have passed. However, that doesn’t mean we did away with the current trends completely; we infused our own musical style as much as possible.”

Lee Seung Hoon added, “I think there’s a lot of meaning [with this album] in that we showed the possibility of us continuing to make our own music.”

WINNER revealed they have never been as comfortable with Yang Hyun Suk as they are now. Kang Seung Yoon shared, “For this album, he helped us so that we could do things our own way. Besides the things he thought were truly wrong, he didn’t really give us negative feedback and gave us nothing but praise. We’ve never been so complimented while releasing an album before. He praised us saying that it was fun and nice that all of us had different styles of making music.”

He added, “We’re exchanging jokes and small talk with him more frequently now. It seems like we’ve gotten closer to him, so we’re happy. In all aspects, he takes care of us and supports us a lot. Thanks to him, we feel very comfortable and reassured.”

After going through all kinds of ups and downs for the past years since their debut in 2014, WINNER discovered the importance of communication in their teamwork. Kang Seung Yoon confessed, “As our time between comebacks became longer and longer, the members and I spent more time interacting with each other. Every time, we thought a lot about being happy with each other.”

Song Mino revealed, “Whenever we hurt each other’s feelings, we talk about it right way. We listen to each other’s opinions, decide what was right and wrong, and then end with reconciliation.” Lee Seung Hoon laughed as he said, “I’m the mediator of the group who makes sure the teamwork is maintained. Because I’m always good-natured.”

The members of WINNER stated, “As time goes on, we feel like we become stronger. We’re close and happy. We always have a fun time promoting.”

Kang Seung Yoon added, “I think 2018 is going to be a very busy year. Our goal is to have more activities than last year. We have a full schedule until this summer. We’re preparing for fan meetings and concerts, so please look forward to that. I hope we won’t be able to lose sight of our happiness during this time. I don’t want anything big; I simply hope for today to be better than yesterday.”